Tag Archives: Northern Parula

Northern Parulas were certainly the “bird of the week” at Sandy Point.

It was a special five-day run at Sandy Point Beach on Cousin’s Island in Yarmouth. It was a record-shattering run in fact, in which I tallied nearly 18,000 migrants engaging in the “Morning Flight,” or “morning re-determined migration” when nocturnally-migrating passerines relocate (to drastically oversimplify things) come sunrise.

(To learn more about Sandy Point, check out the site entry in Birdwatching in Maine: A Site Guide, and for more on nocturnal migration, interpreting the radar, and the “morning flight” phenomena, check out Chapter 5 in my first book, How to Be a Better Birder.Whaddya mean you don’t have these two books!?)

I’ve had a handful of four-day runs, but I cannot think of a time when conditions were favorable – and I was actually present, and not leading tours on Monhegan for example – for five straight days. But I have most certainly never had five days like this!

I recorded 72 species “deemed migrating” through here, not including migrants that were in the bushes, such as the Gray Catbirds and Song Sparrows that are so abundant in the brush here. It does not include species like Osprey, in which some of the many I saw this week were likely southbound, but impossible to separate from the still-locals. And this tally did not include all of the waterbirds, from Common Eiders to herds of dabbling American Black Ducks, and from Bald Eagles to hunting Great Blue Herons, as well as resident species.

I tallied 25 species of warblers, including a single Connecticut Warbler, one of the most sought-after parulids in Maine. A Northern Mockingbird was only my 5th ever noted here, and two passing Dickcissels are always a treat. But certainly the icing on the cake of this great week was the Lark Sparrow found by the group in the parking lot on the relatively quiet morning of 9/13. This was a first record for Sandy Point, and my personal 184th species here.

But it was the morning of the 11th that will go down in Sandy Point history! 8,185 migrants was not only a new record, but almost doubled the previous record (4,346 on Sept 21, 2010). It was incredible. More on that epic morning later.

A number of records for high counts for individual species were set, and I am sure even more would have been shattered if I had a higher rate of identification during the onslaught of the 11th. Other trends, typical of the season, were evident, such as the slow but steady change in the composition of the flight. The early migrants like Magnolia Warblers were giving way to a growing percentage of Yellow-rumped Warbles and Blackpoll Warblers for example. But it sure seems like we’re not yet running our of Yellow Warblers and American Restarts, however!immature male American Redstart

Yellow Warbler, adult male

So first, here’s the numbers (bold font indicates a new daily record).

9/9

9/10

9/11

9/12

9/13

Blue-winged Teal

3

0

0

0

0

Unidentified teal

0

0

4

0

0

Surf Scoter

3

0

0

0

0

Common Loon

4

0

0

3

0

Northern Harrier

0

1

0

0

0

Killdeer

0

1

0

0

0

Lesser Yellowlegs

0

0

0

1

0

Mourning Dove

0

1

0

1

1

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

2

0

0

1

1

Hairy Woodpecker

0

1

0

0

0

Northern Flicker

1

256

68

26

12

Pileated Woodpecker

0

1

0

1

0

American Kestrel

0

0

3

0

1

Merlin

1

1

0

1

2

Eastern Wood-Pewee

3

4

0

0

0

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

1

0

0

0

0

“Traill’s” Flycatcher

2

0

0

0

0

Least Flycatcher

9

11

3

2

0

Unidentified Empidonax

5

0

0

1

0

Eastern Phoebe

1

3

2

2

2

Eastern Kingbird

2

1

0

0

0

Unidentified flycatcher

6

1

1

0

0

Blue-headed Vireo

1

3

1

2

0

Philadelphia Vireo

3

4

2

1

0

Red-eyed Vireo

42

49

30

9

4

Unidentified vireo

1

2

0

0

0

Blue Jay

0

0

0

2

5

Barn Swallow

1

0

0

0

0

Red-breasted Nuthatch

1

1

2

1

0

Golden-crowned Kinglet

0

0

0

1

0

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

2

1

5

4

0

Swainson’s Thrush

10

0

0

2

0

American Robin

4

3

1

2

0

Unidentified thrush

0

1

0

0

0

Northern Mockingbird

0

1

0

0

0

Cedar Waxwing

21

265

377

54

0

Ovenbird

0

0

0

0

1

Northern Waterthrush

0

0

0

1

0

Black-and-white Warbler

33

59

41

32

5

Tennessee Warbler

4

2

2

8

0

Nashville Warbler

8

8

10

4

0

CONNECTICUT WARBLER

1

0

0

0

0

Mourning Warbler

0

1

0

0

0

Common Yellowthroat

2

1

5

5

2

American Redstart

602

550

844

119

16

Cape May Warbler

18

5

8

5

0

Northern Parula

705

630

692

612

205

Magnolia Warbler

66

117

32

23

2

Bay-breasted Warbler

5

3

1

1

0

Blackburnian Warbler

7

6

1

0

0

Yellow Warbler

19

52

38

67

8

Chestnut-sided Warbler

5

2

0

2

0

Blackpoll Warbler

9

3

27

25

35

Black-throated Blue Warbler

8

7

4

4

0

Palm Warbler

0

0

0

1

0

“Western” Palm Warbler

1

0

0

0

0

Pine Warbler

0

0

0

1

0

Yellow-rumped Warbler

3

6

3

19

11

Prairie Warbler

1

2

1

1

0

Black-throated Green Warbler

118

63

73

57

26

Canada Warbler

6

0

1

0

0

Wilson’s Warbler

12

17

7

4

0

Chipping Sparrow

2

0

1

3

1

LARK SPARROW

0

0

0

0

1

White-throated Sparrow

1

0

0

0

0

Savannah Sparrow

2

0

0

0

0

Scarlet Tanager

1

1

4

1

0

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

3

1

0

0

0

Indigo Bunting

0

0

1

1

0

DICKCISSEL

0

0

1

0

1

Bobolink

1

2

0

0

0

Red-winged Blackbird

1

2

0

0

0

Rusty Blackbird

0

1

0

0

0

Baltimore Oriole

2

1

1

1

1

House Finch

0

0

0

1

1

Purple Finch

0

0

0

8

0

American Goldfinch

5

12

3

6

4

Unidentified

1915

1887

5893

737

192

TOTAL

3705

4057

8185

1866

540

Now, let’s take a look at the radar. Here are the density and velocity images from 1am (as a sample) on 9/9 and 9/10. That’s a ton of birds on the radar.

And even as late as 4:00am on each day, a lot of birds were visible, and a lot of birds were offshore.

The night of 9/8 through 9/9 featured light westerly winds, shifting to northwest by sunrise. And on the next night, light north winds became northwest overnight. Both, as expected, produced great flights over and through Sandy Point some dawn.

Weather patterns, especially at this time of year, rarely produce three great nights for migrants in a row. And when they do, it often results in fewer birds overnight (and therefore at Sandy Point) come sunrise; essentially, the well temporarily runs dry.

And as you can see by the 1:00am radar image from September 11th, the density was nowhere near the previous two nights, despite mostly light westerly winds overnight.

And by 4:00am, it was rather quiet.

Light northwesterly winds in the evening slowly gave way to light north, before becoming light and variable. After midnight, they became west but didn’t really increase until after 2:00am. Coupled with a lackluster radar return, this was not a recipe for a huge flight.

Nonetheless with a light westerly wind at sunrise, I was heading to Sandy Point anyway. If only because it was a day off, and I won’t have many more chances to visit “my office” this month. A milky sunrise further clouded (sorry) my optimism for a big flight, but there were plenty of birds in the air.

And then all hell broke loose.

It was incredible. It was frustrating. It was beautiful. It was painful. It was amazing. It was indeed overwhelming, and at times, my only hopes at quantifying the flood was to skip attempting identification and just click my unidentified clicker as fast as I could.

And I really can’t explain it. It “shouldn’t” have been this amazing.

Come nightfall, with high pressure remaining in control, and with light westerly winds and clear skies once again, a moderate to strong flight occurred overnight. Here are the 1:00am and 4:00am radar images from the wee hours of 9/12:

With light westerly winds come dawn, I was once again stationed at the bridge, and what was – prior to three days ago! – considered a very good flight passed over and through. It was even downright relaxing – and manageable – after the chaos of the previous morning. I had fun.

Not surprisingly, after four consecutive nights, the flight was much lighter overnight on the 12th into the 13th, as evidenced once again by the 1:00am and 4:00am images.

And despite very light westerly winds in the morning, and clear skies, only a light flight was to pass through the point. Of course, that Lark Sparrow more than made up for it. It was also nice to enjoy a slower flight – and identify many more birds than not!

So almost every morning made sense: radar plus weather conditions correctly predicted the intensity of the flight. Except for one. The Big One. And I can’t explain it. But, I am OK (mostly) with that – it’s one of the fascinating and flabbergasting aspects of documenting the morning redetermined migration!

Winds turned to the south during the day on the 13th, and continued light and southerly overnight, bringing the streak of five great nights of migration to an end. Come morning, I also slept in – relatively speaking – and then went for a massage. As my therapist began to work on my aching neck, she simply uttered, “Wow” and got to work. I felt the same on Monday morning when the greatest flight I have ever recorded passed through Sandy Point.

Species, such as this Swainson’s Thrush, that can be rather secretive in migration, are sometimes seen really well at Sandy Point!

A small group arrived with me on Friday, and boy did we hit the ground running. The first bird we saw off the boat was a Purple Martin zipping overhead – a nice rarity to get things started. As if my usual Monhegan-stoked Rarity Fever wasn’t already in full effect, the next bird we saw was a wet Empid. And let the games begin! Of course, this one was a pretty straightforward Alder Flycatcher after we got good looks at it and heard it call.

American Redstarts, Northern Parulas, and Blackpoll Warblers were common and conspicuous as it took us over an hour just to walk up Dock Road! A great look at a male Bay-breasted Warbler near the Ice Pond was a treat, and we caught up with part of the small flocks of Red and White-winged Crossbills that have been wandering around the island. We saw at least 8 Red and at least 6 White-winged, including fresh juveniles of each – likely having bred out here in the late winter and early spring.

A Sora calling in the marsh didn’t really stop all weekend, and Yellow Warblers were particularly conspicuous around town.

And our FOY Novelty pizza.

While I – and the group – were hearing a little too much “you should have been here yesterday,” we were pretty content with the leftovers of the fallout, with 16 species of warblers by day’s end, including impressive numbers of Northern Parulas.

A rare-in-spring Dickcissel flew over the Trailing Yew as we awaited coffee, soon followed by a close-passing Yellow-billed Cuckoo. After a strong flight overnight, there were a lot of new birds around. Fueled by the delicious Birds & Beans coffee being brewed by the Trailing Yew all weekend, we began our birding, soon picking up lots of new arrivals including Cape May Warbler and Swainson’s Thrush.

Apple trees in full bloom all around town were one of the major draws for birds and birders. In fact, you could basically pick an apple tree and sit in front of it long enough to see at least one of all of the common migrants that were about, such as Magnolias Warbler…

…and Chestnut-sided…

Jeannette met up with the rest of the tour group arriving on the first boat from New Harbor, and caught up with us after catching up with two of the most cooperative Philadelphia Vireos you’ll ever meet that we all enjoyed along Dock Road.

In town, we heard a White-eyed Vireo, another rarity (although one of the expected ones out here), ran into a few more of both species of crossbills behind the Ice Pond, and spotted the young Humpback Whale that has been making regular appearances close to shore off the island’s western shore! And this Scarlet Tanager…which seemed an appropriate find since we have been consuming the coffee named for it!

After hearing a singing Mourning Warbler earlier in the day for our 20th species of warbler on the trip, we had a handful of glimpses of a skulking female near the Yew. I turned around to follow a flitting Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Training my bins on the flycatcher, I first focused on the branch behind it, which turned out to be hosting a roosting Common Nighthawk!

83 species of birds on the day, including 19 species of warblers made for one helluva day, but the fun was just beginning! In addition to my annual tour, this was the weekend of Birds On Tap – Monhegan!

And one of the truly special events was a limited, 31-gallon batch of a special coffee-infused milk stout from Monhegan Brewing, featuring a pound and a half of the dark roast Scarlet Tanager coffee from Birds & Beans!

I had the honor of announcing the official release, taking some of the first sips of this delicious light-bodied stout featuring a subtle sweetness from lactose perfectly balanced with a bitter roastiness from the coffee.

Of course, we were also still birding. I promise!

In fact, we momentarily cleared out the brewery when a possible Orange-crowned Warbler (one was seen by others over the past two days) was spotted nearby. Rushing over, we carefully studied the bird before reaching the conclusion that it was indeed a pale Tennessee Warbler.

After an unfortunate but necessary cancellation from our original speaker, Dr. Steve Kress arrived to save us – admittedly a feat marginally less heroic than what he did for puffins and endangered seabirds all over the world!

Giving the weekend’s keynote presentation on his work to bring Atlantic Puffins back to nearby Eastern Egg Rock, Steve explained the challenges he and the puffins faced before finally realizing his novel approach finally bore fruit, or should I say, pufflings.

Overnight, a back door cold front sagged southward, shifting the winds to an easterly direction and limiting the arrival of new migrants to the island. Our “Morning Flight Watch” with plentiful free Birds & Beans coffee for all at the Trailing Yew wasn’t too eventful, but things definitely picked up for the post-breakfast walk.

Jeannette led my tour group, and the birding was still a bit slow, relatively speaking. But, they finally made their way down to the pump house to see Eastern Kingbirds flycatching in the marsh. And, up to the lighthouse for the first time which was highlighted by a fantastic view of a female Blackburnian Warbler.

Meanwhile, Kristen Lindquist assisted me in leading the free, open-to-all birdwalk as part of the weekend’s special events. A nice mix of birders, residents, and visitors enjoyed a casual stroll. We chatted as we went, covering a variety of topics from bird migration to conservation to coffee to the ill-conceived industrial wind development scheme for the island’s southern waters.

Some folks, new to birding, may have left with the impression that Red-eyed Vireos were about the most common bird in the world, as quite a few were calmly and methodically foraging through apple trees in and around town.

But perhaps this male Blackburnian Warbler would end up being a “spark” bird for someone! Because male Blackburnian Warbler!

With a light easterly wind continuing, and our group back together after more Novelty pizza, we walked up to Burnt Head, where we enjoyed some nice close passes from Northern Gannets

Jeannette and I spent an extra night on the island, knowing we would need a little time to unwind after the even-more-chaotic-than-expected weekend of events. After a great dinner with friends, we listened to two Soras calling from the marsh and an American Woodcock still displaying somewhere overhead before turning in.

We awoke on Monday to dense fog and no visible migration on the radar, but the birding was actually quite good. We found a Nelson’s Sparrow in the Lobster Cove marsh, but also enjoyed how the damp weather (mist, drizzle, and a few showers) were keeping activity low and close, easily viewed in the blooming apple trees around town once again.
As a warm front passed through, with only a little more drizzle but rapidly warming temperatures and clearing skies, we took a post-pizza hike, heading deeper into the woods, which netted more of the island’s breeding species, such as many more Black-throated Green Warblers.

Somehow – now how did this happen? – our hike ended at the brewery, where another pour of the Birds & Beans-infused beer was in order.

Birds on Tap – Monhegan!

We have the “Birds on Tap!” lecture series at Rising Tide in partnership with Dr. Noah Perlut, and the Birds on Tap – Roadtrip! series in conjunction with the Maine Brew Bus, and now, we’re going even bigger with a weekend on the birding Mecca of Monhegan Island!Eastern Kingbirds.

But now we’re adding coffee to the mix, specifically bird-friendly, shade-grown, organic, and fair-trade certified – not to mention absolutely delicious – Birds & Beans coffee! Roasted right here in Maine, Birds & Beans (available at Freeport Wild Bird Supply and several other retailers around the state) coffee carries the “gold standard” of certification, the “Bird Friendly” label of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. With this level of certification, we can protect the rainforest habitat required for the Neotropical migrants that us birders flock to places like Monhegan Island in spring and fall to see.

Want to see warblers, vireos, tanagers, and orioles? Well then we really can’t afford to lose more rainforest where these birds spend up to eight months of every year. So this year, while enjoying the migrants that pass over and through Monhegan, we’re going to work to save them. By drinking coffee…and a little beer.

Northern Parula on springtime apples on Monhegan.

Dr. Stephen Kress will be giving a program titled: “Saving Seabirds: Lessons from Puffins and Terns”. Worldwide, about one third of all seabird species are globally threatened due to human caused threats. A recent study has shown that 70% of all seabirds have vanished in the last 60 years. Now, often at the last hour, there is a bold approach emerging to help some of the most threatened species. Dr. Kress will review how techniques developed on Maine islands have led to the restoration of puffins and terns to historic nesting islands. He will also discuss how these techniques are helping to expand breeding ranges and reduce risks to extinction worldwide while serving as a bellwether to the effects of commercial fishing and climate change. His lecture includes reviews of several inspiring and hopeful seabird restoration projects worldwide. Dr. Kress will also share the recent discovery of the previously unknown winter home for puffins- to an area known as New England’s remarkable ‘coral canyons and seamounts’ off the NE continental shelf. Discovery of the puffin wintering area provides an additional reason to protect this biologically diverse habitat.

Dr. Kress is Vice President for Bird Conservation for the National Audubon Society and Director of Project Puffin and the Hog Island Audubon Camp. His career has focused on developing techniques for managing colonial nesting seabirds. In this role, he manages 13 seabird nesting islands in Maine that are home to more than 42,000 seabirds of 27 species. Each year his program trains about 25 interns; hundreds of professional seabird biologists can trace their first interest in seabirds to Project Puffin. Methods first developed in Maine such as seabird chick translocations and social attraction are now standard practice worldwide. Dr. Kress received his Ph.D. from Cornell University and his Master’s and undergraduate degrees from Ohio State University. In the summer he lives in Bremen and winters in Ithaca, NY with his wife Elissa and daughter Liliana. He is author (with Derrick Jackson of the Boston Globe) of a new autobiography (Project Puffin: the Improbable Quest to Bring a Beloved Seabird Back to Egg Rock). The book tells the inside story of how puffins were brought back to Egg Rock and other Maine islands.

The Trailing Yew will be serving Birds & Beans Coffee for its guests all weekend, and there will be an ample supply available to fuel Sunday Morning. We’ll begin by sipping coffee while observing the “Morning Flight” above the Trailing Yew and keeping an eye on the spruces around the property – often one of the most productive patches on the island at sunrise! After breakfast, local experts will lead a birdwalk to some of the nearby hotspots, departing the Yew at 9:00am and returning around 11:00am.

Memorial Day weekend is prime time to view migrants on their way north, in full breeding garb, and we’ll also be seeking rarities – unusual species from all directions often show up on this weekend; expect the unexpected.

Such as near-annual Summer Tanagers…

… or, as in 2014, Maine’s first-ever Brewer’s Sparrow!

“But wait,” many of you are saying, “you said something about beer!” It is called “Birds on Tap!” afterall, so beer will definitely be at the forefront of this special weekend. But not just any beer, Monhegan Brewing’s fantastic beer! In fact, the event kicks off on Saturday afternoon with an exclusive, limited-edition, small-batch coffee stout brewed with Birds & Beans! “Beer-listers” will want to head out just for this one-time offering, just like birders flock to Monhegan for those once-in-a-lifetime bird sightings!

Kenn and Kim will be signing books, birds will be discussed, and beer will be imbibed. And that’s just the kickoff!

Sold yet?

This is going to be a one of a kind event, so you’ll want to make your reservations soon. You can join my MonhegZen Birding Weekend Tour for 1, 2, or 3 days (see details on the “Tours, Events, Workshops, and Programs” page of our website) or make your reservations to spend a night on the island (our group, and our guest speakers, will be staying and dining at the Trailing Yew if you would like to join us!) and join us for some of these outstanding events…all of which are completely free (with books and beer available for purchase). Edit (5/12): NOTE: The tour is full, but all of the following events are free and open to the public, with no registration necessary.

Sunday, May 29th:
6:30-7:30am – Casual birding while sampling B&B coffee with local experts around the Trailing Yew
9:00-11:00am – Guided birdwalk with local experts (Location: begins and ends at the Trailing Yew)

You often hear birders on Monhegan exclaim “it doesn’t get any better than this!” Except now, it has! I sincerely hope you’ll join us on the island for this fun-filled weekend, as if you needed more incentive than visiting Maine’s premier migration hoptspot!

Over 2,000 migrants. 45 species, including 17 species of warblers. Yeah, it was a good morning to be at Sandy Point!

Cape May Warbler, male.

I arrived, as usual, a few minutes before sunrise, but unlike most mornings, birds had already begun to cross. And once the sun crested the horizon, the floodgates open. OK, so it wasn’t “Warblergeddon” at Cape May, but it was fun for me and it was an excellent flight for here.

Well, mostly fun. A lot of birds were high, especially as the wind went calm. Big pockets of birds were just too high to identify. I did my best to just keep count. Birds were dropping into the trees on both sides of the road, others were zipping through underneath. As I focused on something in the elm, I am sure I missed birds overhead. It was tough to keep track, but I did my best.Prairie Warbler, male.

By the time I departed at 9:30, the tally was the 7th highest I’ve had at Sandy Point (the 6th highest in September), and by far my best flight of the season to date. It also had some interesting birds, and I’ll analyze some of the numbers below.

Black-throated Blue Warbler, male. Look at how the “pocket hankercheif” is blown out by the low sun angle.

Several counts were noteworthy, including the two record highs. Tree Swallows usually don’t bother crossing from the island to the mainland via Sandy Point, but more often continue on to the south, crossing the bay with little trouble. Plus, most swallows are probably moving through after I depart in the morning. These birds, mostly in one large and a couple of small groups, were funneling over the bridge along with the rest of the typical Morning Flight migrants. Meanwhile, the 5 White-breasted Nuthatches were noteworthy as I usually see no more than a couple all fall here. The previous record for a single morning was two.

As for the higher counts, I was surprised by how large of a percentage of identified migrants were American Redstarts compared to Blackpoll Warblers. However, I think this is an “identification bias.” Redstarts are the easiest warbler to ID for me in flight, and few pass through at almost any height without being identified. I doubt many of the overwhelming “unidentified” count were redstarts. However, I would wager that a sizeable percentage of them were Blackpoll Warblers. Based on the date and what I’m seeing in the woods these days, there should have been a lot more blackpolls. However, these strong fliers are often very high overhead on light winds, and my guess is that the diminishing westerly this morning was of little consequence for them, and that a lot of those little dots overhead were blackpolls.

Yesterday, I was lamenting not being at Sandy Point. The conditions were great in the morning, and the radar was quite good overnight. However, I was guiding in the Camden area, and at least a little morning flight (ca 100 birds) flew over and through Merryspring Nature Center Park in town. It was a tease to think what might have been going on at “my office” however.

But last night’s radar was even better! Here are the very active 10pm, 12am, 2am, and 4am radar and velocity images from the overnight. See how much was offshore, even as of 4am?

And come dawn, the winds aloft were perfect for a good Morning Flight at Sandy Point.

In other words, that’s what produced 2,000 birds at Sandy Point, and with a busy schedule this fall, I was quite pleased to catch one of the big ones.

Hooded Warbler, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Summer Tanager, Grasshopper Sparrow, 19 species of warblers and 89 species? All in 48 hours? It must be Monhegan!

Jeannette and I escaped for a quick trip to Monhegan Island this week. It was all-too-brief as usual, but we’re always happy for whatever short visit we can muster. With the early season ferry schedule still in effect, we couldn’t arrive until noon on Monday, and departed at 12:30 on Wednesday. That only gave us 48 hours of birding.

Northern Parulas were common and conspicuous – and looking mighty fine! – throughout the visit.

A strong flight overnight Sunday into Monday ushered in some new migrants to the island, but also ushered out several of the rarities that had been present over the weekend. Luckily, a few goodies lingered, including the adult Yellow-crowned Night-Heron that was seen almost all day for all three days of our visit in a corner of the Ice Pond. Our best discovery of the trip was a Grasshopper Sparrow that we kicked up near the microwave tower. Unfortunately, it was not seen again by us or anyone else.

The remnants of the good morning were present – it was decidedly birdy and we managed 16 species of warblers and 65 total species of birds before dinner…and with the pleasant surprise of finding Monhegan Brewing open, we may have spent a little afternoon time there instead of beating the bush.

FOY.

Magnolia Warbler was our most common warbler on Day 1.

Come nightfall, birds took the air on light southerly winds. However, after midnight, there were very few
birds on the radar near the coast, suggesting many more birds would have departed than arrived. And that certainly was the case!

It was a quiet morning, and in the dense fog, birds were few and far between. The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was present and accounted for however. Then, in the afternoon, Jeannette and I (mostly) circumnavigated the island – a hike I haven’t done in a while, so that was a nice change of pace. The only Cape May Warbler we saw in the three days was during the hike, in one of quite a few small mixed-species foraging flocks that we encountered on the island’s east side.

We also came upon a tired and wet Scarlet Tanager (I can’t believe I didn’t bring mealworms on this trip!), which was slowly working the rocks for seaweed flies. It was finding several, and after watching it for about 15 minutes, we can tell it was getting a little more strength.

Upon our return to town, we were alerted to the re-sighting of the weekend’s Summer Tanager, flycatching on Swim Beach. To say it posed for pictures would be an understatement.

Overall, it was a slow day of birding by Monhegan standards (55 species including 13 species of warblers), but a slow day of birding on Monhegan is a great day of birding most anywhere else!

Although we awoke to more dense fog on Wednesday (5/20), our last day on the island, there were soon peaks of sun overhead, and a lot of new birds were to be seen. A moderate flight overnight on light southwest winds then saw birds drift offshore a little more as the winds shifted to the west after midnight. This brought an array of new arrivals to the island, although nothing in exceptionally large quantities, but our trip list grew steadily.

Our morning began with a nice flight of Northern Gannets off Lobster Cove and ended with 17 total species of warblers. Personal first-of-years included the gannets, 1 American Pipit at Lobster Cove, and a singing Willow Flycatcher. The Summer Tanager continued, and the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was still standing guard.

And finally, we ran into the one rarity that we had not yet caught up with – a female Hooded Warbler that had been present since the weekend. In true MonhegZen birding style, after being told we “just missed it” several times, I played a hunch and gave one little thicket a quick check before we headed up to the Trailing Yew to grab our carry-on bags.

And sure enough, there she was!

While both a Wood Thrush and Snowy Egret that were seen on Tuesday would have been “Island Birds” for me, we managed to see all of three of the continuing rarities, plus finding our own in the Grasshopper Sparrow (a very good bird out here).

In other words, it was a great – albeit quick – trip. I look forward to returning no later than our MonhegZen Fall Migration Weekend, if not sooner. And for the record, Monhegan Brewing’s new Flyway IPA – named for the birds and birders that descend on the island each spring and fall – is fantastic!

The trip was also way too short for Sasha. Not only did she not get any lifers, but her little island romance with Chaco came to an all-too soon end.

But most conspicuous in their complete absences was the lack of Carolina Wrens. The island usually has the densest population of this “southern” species anywhere in the state (although one neighborhood in Wells might rival it), but we did not have a single bird the entire trip! Same for everyone else we talked to. Apparently, the unusually harsh, long, and snowy (especially for out here) winter took its toll – as it is wont to do on Carolina Wrens pushing the northern limits of their range.

Chestnut-sided Warblers were one of many species that were more frequently encountered this morning that in the previous two days.

This is the 12:00am image from Sunday. This is what “no migration” looks like on the radar. You can also see the rain approaching from the west.

Now this is the midnight image from Saturday. This is what “I have no idea what’s going on” looks like on the radar. While anything from some weird warping of the radar beams from changes in air temperature to a simple malfunction could result in this, what it is NOT is a lot of birds. It’s too irregular…and bird’s don’t “explode” in narrow bands!

So, compare those to what “a whole boatload” of birds looks like. Here are the 10pm, 12am, 2am, and 4am base reflectivity and velocity images from last night.

Yeah, it would have been nice to be on Monhegan this morning. But I was in my other sanctuary – my office at Sandy Point. And this is what happened:

Some of the migrants pause long enough at Sandy Point to do a little snacking. Here’s a Red-eyed Vireo eating Alternate-leafed Dogwood fruits, and a Swainson’s Thrush stepping out into the sun to dine on Winterberries.

A little post-Sandy Point birding yielded two Wilson’s Snipe trying to stay hidden along the edge of a puddle along Greely Road in Cumberland.

And tonight looks just as good…perhaps even a little better with a more northwesterly flow. See ya at the bridge at sunrise!

With a busy tour and travel schedule once again this fall (every year I say I will schedule fewer things in my favorite season to bird in Maine!), my time at Sandy Point is at a premium. Since it takes certain conditions to make birding here worthwhile, I get quite excited when conditions line up for a good flight.

I was very anxious to arrive at “my office” on Tuesday morning. Moderate northerly winds overnight turned to the northwest, resulting in an exceptional flight over and through SandyPointBeach come dawn. Here is the morning’s scorecard:

Simply put: wow! That was one heck of a flight. In fact, it was downright overwhelming at times – flocks of flickers, waves of warblers, packs of waxwings. It was almost too much to count, and thankfully, Jenny Howard agreed (OK, so maybe I didn’t exactly ask, but beg) to tally flickers for the busiest part of the morning for me. That helped a whole lot.

After a flood like yesterday morning, I am not disappointed by the slow, but steady trickle through the point this morning. It was a more manageable number to count, with quite a few birds lower than yesterday, and often only a few at a time; it was easier to sort through.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting it to be quite this good. And despite really only a “good” flight, parulas had their second highest tally – I didn’t think there would be any left after yesterday’s flight! And yes, this more manageable flight was more “enjoyable,” if considerably less awe-inspiring.

So, what made me have lower expectations for today? Let’s go to the radar!

First, the massive flight overnight Monday into Tuesday that led to all of the records yesterday. I have included the 10pm, 12am, 2am, and 4am radar and velocity images:

Combined, these images show a very strong flight all night long, with a lot of birds offshore come twilight, and likely a lot of birds arriving at the coast come dawn. Looking at that image when I went to bed, and when I awoke, coupled with the light northwesterly winds all night left no doubt that things would be hopping at Sandy Point. And, as we now know, there most certainly was. If you see a radar image that looks like this – go birding in the morning!

In fact, it was a good day all-around for migrants, and everywhere we looked up yesterday, raptors were on the move.

Now, let’s take a look a the radar and velocity images from 10pm, 12am, 2am, and 4am last night:

As night fell Tuesday night, clear and mostly calm conditions let birds take to the air once again – but not nearly as many as the night before. Notice how much smaller the area of return is, and how much less dense? Meanwhile, the velocity image was much less distinctly fast-moving, north-to-south as the previous night (of course, with little to no wind, the ground speed of the birds would be less anyway) – a little more ambiguous than the night before. Furthermore, with a forecast for westerly winds (not as good as northwesterly), and the chance that they would become southwesterly by dawn, I did consider skipping Sandy Point this morning, but with the rest of the week looking even less productive, I knew I had to give it a go.

And, obviously, I am glad that I did. But upon returning to the store, and checking those above radar images once again, I find it a bit odd that the radar image (small in diameter, but very dense) did not translate to a more distinct velocity image. Perhaps there was a lot of slow-moving stuff up there (insects, pollen, dust, etc) that clouded the motion of the birds. Either way, it was a good night for flying, and if it’s a good night for flying, it’s a good morning to be at Sandy Point!